ICE to launch ‘enforcement action’ in Broadview amid outcry over feds' response to protests
ICE agents deploy tear gas as Broadview ICE protests continue
In the last 90 minutes -- ICE agents deployed tear gas on the crowd.
BROADVIEW, Ill. - ICE protesters were at the ICE Broadview facility for another day on Saturday. Protesters were tear gassed. Reportedly, two individuals have been arrested.
The Village of Broadview, which houses an ICE facility at the center of increasingly heated protests in recent weeks, said immigration agents will launch "enforcement action" throughout the suburb on Saturday.
In a statement, the village said ICE informed the Broadview Police Department that there will be "a s*** show" in the village on Saturday.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that's not true.
What we know:
The comment from ICE came as retaliation for the village on Friday calling on ICE to "stop making war on our community," according to the village’s statement.
"ICE agents told the BFD that they will be launching enforcement action throughout all of Broadview throughout the day. Additionally, ICE informed BPD officials that ICE agents will be again deploying chemical arms, such as tear gas, pepper spray, etc. against American citizens, our residents, and our first responders," according to the village of Broadview.
Anti-ICE rallies across Chicagoland
As ICE agents continue to make their presence felt, demonstrators are making theirs heard in the city and suburbs.
"This is made up. Our law enforcement enforces the rule of law. Period," McLaughlin said in response to the statement made by the Broadview Police Department.
It was unclear exactly what the nature of the ICE enforcement would be, although some protests are reportedly planned at the facility on Saturday afternoon.
What they're saying:
Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson is urging Broadview residents to "take all necessary precautions to protect themselves and their families in order to stay out of harm’s way."
The village statement added, "ICE is seeking to intimidate the Village of Broadview because we dared exercise our 1st Amendment constitutional rights calling for an end to their war on Broadview. We will not be intimidated. We are Broadview strong."
Protest activity continues at Broadview ICE processing facility
ICE operations not slowing down across the Chicagoland and even being more visible to the public.
Heated Protests:
The latest comments come the day after federal agents used pepper pellets and gas canisters to disperse protesters outside the ICE facility in Broadview on Friday morning, where demonstrators were attempting to block operations tied to a recent enforcement sweep.
An ICE spokesperson told Fox News that two demonstrators were arrested, one of whom was carrying a gun.
In a press release on Friday, ICE said it's officers are facing a more than 1,000% increase in assaults against them, and cited the recent shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas in which three detainees were shot. No law enforcement officers were hurt in that incident.
A top Department of Homeland Security official also called on Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to condemn the protests, which ICE referred to as "rioters" and the threats to ICE officers.
"Just days after the vile terrorist attack on an ICE Dallas Facility, over 200 rioters gathered outside the Broadview Processing Center in Illinois, and some began chanting 'shoot ICE.' These violent threats and smears about ICE must stop. There is no place in American politics for violence," said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement. "We are calling on Governor Pritzker and Mayor Johnson to condemn these riots and tone down their rhetoric about ICE. These riots outside the ICE Broadview Processing Center and attacks on ICE officers come after Democrat politicians, including Governor Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson, have villainized and demonized ICE law enforcement."
In a statement, the ACLU of Illinois responded to what it called the "escalating use of violence" against the protesters at the Broadview facility:
"Let us be clear: no one should be targeted with chemical agents and projectiles for engaging in First Amendment activity. Simply because the Administration does not like the reality that many people in the Chicago area and around the country are fiercely opposed to their reckless, violent immigration enforcement policies is no reason to respond with these dangerous tactics that risk serious physical injury."